The present invention relates to the field of collecting yard debris in flexible containers, and more particularly to a new and useful method and means of collecting and transporting yard debris for disposal in plastic trash bags.
The conventional plastic trash bag, normally formed of thin, flexible plastic such as low density polyethylene, is commonly used for a variety of trash receptacle functions around the home. The widespread acceptance and use of such flexible plastic trash bags evidence their basic practicality notwithstanding the difficulty of filling the flexible and flaccid trash bags with trash.
One of the more common uses of trash bags, particularly in larger sizes, is the collection of leaves, lawn and garden clippings, or the like ("yard debris"). The flexibility of the trash bags is sometimes a hindrance in such uses, and the prior art has seen the development of may types of holding devices for retaining the bags, and particularly the mouths thereof, open in order to receive the debris to be put therein.
Many designs have been proposed for supporting trash bags, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,778 to Boyle; U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,200 to Sawyer et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,547 to Hoerner. While these designs may support the trash bag itself, and may facilitate the routing of the yard debris into the trash bag, both with varying degrees of success, they do not make the task of collecting the yard debris and carrying it to a remotely-located trash bag any easier. Thus, these designs have not proven completely satisfactory.
Other designs have been proposed for collection devices that incorporate a trash bag, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,087 to Alexander; U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,043 to Wilsford; U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,011 to Rylander; U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,982 to Cooke; U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,603 to Simpson; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,965 to Aulabaugh. However, these devices have proven difficult to use in some circumstances. For instance, it may be desirable to leave the trash bag at a certain location, such as curbside, while allowing the yard debris to be separately collected and conveniently transported to the location of the trash bag. The combined devices are obviously incapable of operating in such a fashion.
As such, there remains a need for an improved yard debris transport device and a method of using the same. Such a device should preferably allow the yard debris to be collected at one location and thereafter carried to another location and deposited in a conventional plastic or paper trash bag.